Covered in Color: Christo and Jeanne-Claude's Fabrics of Freedom

Description

A vibrantly illustrated biography about visionary artist Christo, encouraging creativity, perseverance, and appreciating the beauty all around usChristo (1935-2020) and Jeanne-Claude (1935-2009) are renowned for their large-scale, ambitious art installations that wrapped landmarks and swaths of land in fabric, including Berlin's Wrapped Reichstag, Paris's The Pont Neuf Wrapped, and concluding with New York City's The Gates in Central Park (2005). This lively biography chronicles Christo's humble childhood in Soviet-controlled Bulgaria-under a regime that suppressed individuality and creativity-to his international fame as a bold (and controversial) innovator in the art world. Christo discovered an early love of art and found a way to make a living out of his passion by wrapping bottles, cans, stacks of magazines, and even an air conditioner. When he met his wife, Jeanne-Claude, they moved to New York City as undocumented immigrants and became equal partners in both life and work-he, the artist, and she, the dealmaker. Together, Christo and Jeanne-Claude made elaborate, visually stunning installations that transformed public spaces around the world, all free to the public. Christo never explained why he felt compelled to wrap things in fabric-rather, his work celebrated individual interpretation and the simple joy of seeing something familiar in a new way. And though each work was temporary, their awe-inspiring designs, uniting nature with the manmade, stayed with viewers long afterward. Covered in Color inspires readers to appreciate the beauty around us, however fleeting, and to push the boundaries of "possible."

Elisa Boxer is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, a New York Times-published essayist, and a columnist for Inc. magazine. She is the author of the picture book The Voice that Won the Vote and the forthcoming Hope in a Hollow, her first picture book with Abrams. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and lives with her family in Maine. Susanna Chapman is an illustrator, muralist, and designer. Her illustrated picture books include Elizabeth Warren's Big, Bold Plans; The Girl Who Ran; and Ada and the Galaxies. She lives in Nashville.

**STARRED REVIEW** "This one is perfect for storytimes and interdisciplinary curriculum units alike. . .Draped in striking hues and compelling from cover to cover--a gem of a biography!" --Kirkus Reviews "Chapman's fluid, rainbow-hued, predominantly watercolor and gouache illustrations burst with movement--an ideal accompaniment befitting the artists' aesthetic."--Publishers Weekly "Chapman's loose, diaphanous illustrations capture the whimsy and exuberance of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's art."--The Horn Book "The scale of the creations alone make for interesting study; young readers will be enthralled by the thinking and planning that went along with these massive undertakings."--School Library Journal